Conflict
by strikelight angel
Summary: Reim and Break had a fight and naturally, when things got out of hand, Lady Sharon's intervention came in the form of an afternoon tea session. Please R&R.


Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of its affiliates.

Summary: Reim and Break had a fight and naturally, when things got out of hand, Lady Sharon's intervention came in the form of a tea session with Reim.

**Conflict**

Striding briskly down the shadowy corridors of the Pandora Headquarters, Reim couldn't help but wondered once again how he managed to let himself be drawn into a fight (again) with his impossibly willful and impenetrable friend. He was, after all, a pacifist by nature with strong tendency to avoid bloodshed, even if they were merely verbal ones unless duty absolutely demanded otherwise. Even his chain was characterized as the epitome of pacifism, of his generally gentle nature. But then, Xerxes Break was a man with miraculous capacity in drawing out the worse within humanity simply with that ridiculous cocky grin alone.

_Wait, what was the fight about again?_

Reim honestly couldn't remember, all he knew was that it was about something petty and insignificant and probably extremely asinine. What he _did_ remember was that the _silly_ argument turned into something _painful _when Xerxesuttered something so cold and hurtful and inconsiderate to him that Reim had turned blank and pale and simply walked out of the room. It was times like this that he wondered why, _why_ he kept standing up for the asshole, kept looking out for him and kept watching his back.

They weren't speaking to each other and the days turned into weeks. The bad vibe was obvious to the point where even someone as tactless as Alice was asking him if there was something wrong with the Break, since "_he was getting on my nerves more so than usual_". And Lord Oz was becoming seriously concerned that someone might die because apparently "_Break's grin has evolved from being creepy to freaky. He's acting like a charming megalomaniac!_"

By the end of the second week, Lady Sharon had grabbed his hand and dragged him along for tea. "Break is a permanent idiot", she said in a placid tone that gave Reim the impression of someone declaring the first sign of apocalypse. "In fact, I will not be surprised if his idiocy finally breaks the limits of humanity"

Reim, who failed to grasp the point of Lady Sharon's commentary on Xerxes Break's inanity, merely nodded politely in return in hopes of masking his blank confusion. Lady Sharon sighed and continued, intensity laced into her melodic voice. "Because of the past that he couldn't completely let go of, he tends to dislike things that make him weak. So Reim-san, please understand; it is those that he truly cares for and loves that he ends up hurting the most"

Reim felt consciously disconcerted after that particular conversation. It was not that he was completely ignorant of his friend's quirks. It was just that he was inclined to forget about these things when the said friend was being deliberately difficult _and_ going out of his way to make things difficult for everyone. But still, he had known too, that underneath the purposeful sarcasm and conceited smirk, there was a strong _compassion_, though this was a notion that many people would argue with. But then, those people knew _nothing_.

The fight between them had to be the reason for his friend's bad mood, which had to mean something. And according to Alice and Lord Oz, it was also clear that the situation was in need of intervention before someone ended vaporized by the hatter. After all, when Break was in a bad mood, he made sure _everyone_ else knew it.

Making up his mind to patch things up, he decided to search for his friend. However, before he could leave his room, he felt a familiar hand reached across his shoulder from behind in a movement that was meant to confer comfort. Realizing that this was a silent apology or as much of an apology that one would ever get from the red-eyed hatter, Reim casually leaned back into the solid frame behind him before carelessly commenting "You know, Lady Sharon is right. You're an idiot".

...

Written for livejournal secret santa exchange! Hope you like and please R&R!


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